Would You be Surprised to Find That Employees Are REALLY Stressed Out?

A recent survey by ManpowerGroup’s own Right Management indicates that nearly two-thirds of employees are realllllllly stressed @ work.

Employees across the U.S. and Canada were asked:

How would you describe the stress level in your work environment?

A whopping 64 percent said “High” — more than five times the number that said “Low” (11 percent). Only 24 percent rated their stress level at “Medium.”

Those findings echo lots of other recent data:

Employees report feeling more miserable than ever before.
Job pressure is the #1 cause of stress in the U.S.
80 percent of medical expenses are now stress-related.
77 percent of us regularly experience physical problems caused by stress.
48 percent of us lie awake at night due to stress.
40 percent of us are sleep-deprived.
35 percent have been bullied at work.
One out of 25 bosses is a certified psychopath.

Experts estimate that we lose $200-$300 billion lost each year due to stress-related absenteeism, burnout, decreased productivity, workers’ compensation claims, turnover and insurance costs.

What can employers do?

Besides firing all certified psychopaths (after complying with any and all requirements of the ADA, of course), here are some helpful tips from Right Management:

Hold regular work review meetings to clarify priorities and deadlines.
Be open and authentic when sharing company performance info.
Clarify for each employee their role in making the organization successful.
Foster flexible working practices to help employees juggle work and life pressures.

Once again, as we say approximately every 0.3 seconds here on the Blawg, it all comes down to showing your employees some LOVE. Click here for some practical ways to do exactly that, according to our Employment Blawg readers.

This was originally published on ManpowerGroup’s Employment Blawg.